The Australian authorities says Roblox is “on discover” over studies of kid grooming and sexual exploitation on the favored gaming platform.
Communications Minister Anika Wells has written to US-based Roblox Company requesting an pressing assembly over “graphic and gratuitous user-generated content material” on the platform, together with sexually express and suicidal materials.
“Much more disturbing are ongoing studies and considerations about youngsters being approached and groomed by predators, who actively search to use their curiosity and innocence,” her letter reportedly stated.
The workplace of Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, introduced on Tuesday it had put Roblox “on discover” and notified its creators of eSafety’s intention to “immediately check the platform’s implementation and effectiveness of the 9 security commitments it made to Australia’s on-line security regulator final 12 months”.
These commitments, made in September 2025, included making under-16s’ accounts personal by default and introducing instruments to cease grownup customers from contacting under-16s with out parental consent.
Regardless of Roblox telling eSafety it had upheld its commitments by the top of 2025 to adjust to Australia’s On-line Security Act, Inman Grant stated her workplace remained “extremely involved by ongoing studies concerning the exploitation of youngsters on the Roblox service, and publicity to dangerous materials”.
“That’s why eSafety wrote to Roblox final week to inform them that, along with our ongoing compliance monitoring, we can even be immediately testing the implementation of its commitments in order that we now have first-hand insights into this compliance,” she stated in a press release.
In her letter to Roblox, Minister Wells reportedly argued “points seem to persist” on the platform.
“That is untenable and these points are of deep concern to many Australians dad and mom and carers,” she wrote.
Wells stated in a press release that she had additionally requested Australia’s Classification Board “whether or not Roblox’s PG classification stays acceptable, noting the sport was final labeled in 2018, and any additional measures that might be taken”.
Roblox, which was not included within the authorities’s social media ban for under-16s, studies having greater than 150 million day by day customers, most of whom are beneath 18.
Wells stated “Australian dad and mom and youngsters anticipate extra from Roblox”.
“They will and should do extra to guard children, and once we meet I’ll be asking how they suggest to do this,” she stated.
Roblox faces penalties as much as $49.5m
The eSafety Commissioner’s workplace stated it “could take additional motion beneath the On-line Security Act” and impose a high quality on Roblox if its testing confirmed the platform had not fulfilled its authorized obligations.
“The place there may be non-compliance, eSafety will use the total vary of its enforcement powers, as acceptable,” the company stated in a press release.
“This may embody looking for penalties of as much as $49.5 million.”
Inman Grant’s workplace stated it could additionally assess Roblox’s compliance with new online safety codes which begin on 9 March and relate to on-line pornography, excessive impression violence, and self-harm content material.
“These additionally comprise necessities for on-line gaming companies similar to Roblox to ban and take proportionate motion towards non-consensual sharing of intimate photographs, the grooming of youngsters, and sexual extortion,” the company stated.
Roblox stated it could inform the Australian authorities of the steps it has taken to extend person security.
“Roblox has sturdy security insurance policies and processes to assist shield customers that transcend many different platforms, and superior safeguards that monitor for dangerous content material and communications,” a spokesperson stated in a press release.
“We’ve got filters designed to dam the sharing of private info, our chat options don’t permit user-to-user picture or video sharing, and age checks are required earlier than anybody has entry to speak.
“Those self same checks are additionally used to restrict children and youths to solely chatting with others of comparable age by default.”
The spokesperson added that “whereas no system is ideal”, Roblox was dedicated to security and supported investigations introduced by Australian regulation enforcement businesses.
As of January 2026, Roblox customers are required to endure age checks earlier than they’ll entry chat capabilities. Picture: Roblox / Equipped
Discord expands age verification
Discord announced Tuesday that it could globally broaden from March its age assurance measures, which got here into impact for Australian customers in September 2025 regardless of the communications platform additionally not being caught up within the nation’s under-16s social media ban.
The modifications meant all new and present customers worldwide could be restricted to a “teen-appropriate” account by default till they underwent age assurance checks to doubtlessly entry extra doubtlessly delicate options, the corporate stated.
Discord — which, like Roblox, is common with youthful players — stated customers would have the ability to present a video selfie or a authorities ID to its third-party age assurance companions, or would have their age inferred by Discord’s system with out the necessity for identification.
Whereas Discord stated it “efficiently launched a teen-by-default expertise within the UK and Australia” in 2025, the corporate confronted backlash in November when a third-party customer support supplier it used to help with age assurance processes was breached by hackers.
Almost the entire 70,000 customers who had their knowledge uncovered within the breach had been primarily based in Australia.
